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Visit Florida to use donated billboards to battle budget cut

This billboard, along southbound Interstate-95 near the 195 exit in Miami, is among several billboards in South Florida boasting quick ER timing by different hospitals. It was photographed Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm, said Monday it will use donated billboards to urge motorists to call lawmakers and ask for more money to promote Florida as an international vacation destination.

In an email message to tourism industry officials across the state, Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson said Lamar Advertising will be donating space on dozens of digital billboards over the next two weeks to showcase the message “Keep Tourism Fully Funded – Call Your Legislator.”

On Friday, Scott reached a deal with legislative leaders to hold a three-day special session in Tallahassee this week to direct more money to education, tourism promotion and economic incentives.

Despite a push from school districts and Democrats unhappy with the level of education spending, Scott did not follow through on his threat to veto the entire $83 billion budget, choosing instead to use his line-item veto authority to prune $410 million in funding for local projects across the state as he signed the overall package.

In his email, Lawson urged tourism leaders across the state to continue to push for more tourism marketing money.

“This week’s special session provides us the opportunity to once again advocate for a fully funded Visit Florida,” he wrote. “We ask you to positively and respectfully call and email your local legislators to tell them how Visit Florida drives visitors to your community and puts money into your back pocket.”

Palm Beach County tourism officials are also urging locals to call state lawmakers and press for more state funding.

Jorge Pesquera, president and CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches, the county’s official tourism marketing organization, said a cut to Visit Florida’s budget “greatly impairs” the ability to market the state as a tourism hot spot, harming all tourism-related businesses in Florida.

“A highly-weakened Visit Florida will result in fewer visitors, less tourism spending and the loss of thousands of jobs,” Pesquera wrote in an email to local tourism leaders.